Zoning Glossary E-F

This Glossary is provided to assist the public in understanding
the staff evaluation and analysis of development proposals. It
should not be construed as representing legal definitions. Refer to
the Fairfax County Zoning
Ordinance, Comprehensive
Plan or Public Facilities
Manual for additional information.

EASEMENT: A right to or interest in property
owned by another for a specific and limited purpose. Examples:
access easement, utility easement, construction easement, etc.
Easements may be for public or private purposes.

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY CORRIDORS (EQCs): An open
space system designed to link and preserve natural resource areas,
provide passive recreation and protect wildlife habitat. The system
includes stream valleys, steep slopes and wetlands. For a complete
definition of EQCs, refer to the Environmental section of the
Policy Plan for Fairfax County contained in Vol. 1 of the
Comprehensive Plan.

FLOODPLAIN: Those land areas in and adjacent to
streams and watercourses subject to periodic flooding; usually
associated with environmental quality corridors. The 100 year
floodplain drains 70 acres or more of land and has a one percent
chance of flood occurrence in any given year.

FLOOR AREA RATIO (FAR): An expression of the
amount of development intensity (typically, non-residential uses)
on a specific parcel of land. FAR is determined by dividing the
total square footage of gross floor area of buildings on a site by
the total square footage of the site itself.

FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION: A system for
classifying roads in terms of the character of service that
individual facilities are providing or are intended to provide,
ranging from travel mobility to land access. Roadway system
functional classification elements include Freeways or Expressways
which are limited access highways, Other Principal (or Major)
Arterials, Minor Arterials, Collector Streets, and Local Streets.
Principal arterials are designed to accommodate travel; access to
adjacent properties is discouraged. Minor arterials are designed to
serve both through traffic and local trips. Collector roads and
streets link local streets and properties with the arterial
network. Local streets provide access to adjacent properties.